Good morning ALL.
Thank you for posting the wonderful Weekly Address by our First Lady, and with this picture!
I will be posting on Facebook – today, tomorrow and for the rest of next week. This is a very important message.

Morning, G x2! It is Saturday, you know. You didn’t have to get up just yet. (Of course, I almost emailed you three hours ago, then hesitated in case your email is one of those that ding – you know, give a sound alert.)

I really don’t want the Obamas to, and I know she’s said she doesn’t have the personality for it, but reading your comment just now I got a real kick out of the very thought of the O’s ‘rolling over’ the presidency to MichelleO. I bet she could get the votes far easier than that other female whom we don’t trust, and.. THINK OF THE MANY MINDS THAT WOULD EXPLODE!!!

Seriously, for all the garbage thrown their way, I am more than against the idea, but the momentary thought of FLOTUS being the first female pres and the number of rwnjs and ODS personalities who’d have a heart attack perked me right up! :):):)

A beautiful Good Morning to my Chips, Mom, Danny, and all of my TOD family. Lovely overcast in my neck of the woods, however, gives me the pleasure to rise and move about with a few chores. Love the mornings with such character.

A touching and remarkable Weekly Address by our elegant FLOTUS. We are blessed to be reminded that we do not just live unto ourselves, but when others are hurting and feeling the pain; we all seek to find a sweet balance to be a part of the healing process with our words, prayers, meditative thoughts, and our actions. May her message reach millions of mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and fathers who have mothers, sisters, and nieces and nephews. We give back to the world, our love of life and dreams to all young ladies and young people who want to live out their gifts of life on this earth.

Now, I will get myself together and go and get my food items from Trader before the crowd rearrange the parking lot. The colleges are preparing for their closing in this beautiful college town, so families are enjoying the ‘Time to Pack up Early and stop by Trader and get those snacks for the drive back home. I love seeing and feeling all of the beautiful energy in the town, but my car needs to find a parking space near the entrance of Trader Joe’s, since these legs are a little sore from all of my decorating of my patio.

Be good and gentle in your space TOD family and always remember who we have in the Oval Office. Now that is enough to put a smile on our faces today. Have a beautiful day, Mr. President and First Lady. We love you and we are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo grateful for you and your team.

I will be back soon, I pray. {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Love you Danny.}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Granny, HZ

Okay. Now that I have been reading for over an hour, and feel somewhat caught up, it’s time to say Hello!, and Goodbye! Saturday is a work day for me, then I signed up for a Mother’s Day barbecue this afternoon, even though I do not eat barbecue… Or potato salad, or hot dogs, or hamburgers!! I suppose I’m hoping for a bit of un-sauced salmon, and maybe a bit of fresh salad on the side – now, that’s a meal! Everyone have a superb day, readying for tomorrow’s festivities! Back later to check on all o’ y’all! ;)

Welp, there’s no reason for me to wake up at 7 a.m. tomorrow, as Chelsea is out of title contention. I’ve come to the conclusion that far from this EPL season being a wonderful, unpredictable campaign, it was just that the top teams coughed up the ball too many times over the past 10 months. Oh well, there’s always August.

“Agricultural chemicals alone, they say, do not explain why the disease has been detected in some Nicaraguan miners at similar rates, why women who grew up on the sugar mill’s grounds have generally been unscathed, or why workers here are affected at much higher rates than people exposed to the same chemicals elsewhere. Perhaps extreme heat, dehydration, the intensity of the labor or other factors play a role, the researchers say.”

and “Sri Lanka, where similar kidney problems have emerged.”

Nicaragua:
“Residents say they began noticing the sickness shortly after the Nicaraguan government, which had nationalized the sugar industry, returned the mills to private owners in 1992. As the operations at San Antonio rapidly expanded, driven partly by American and European appetites for sugar and a move into ethanol production, families say the cane cutters — many of whom had been born in a hospital on the mill grounds and went to a school there — grew sick in larger numbers.”

That’s the new GOP meme.
POTUS fails his second term.
Catchy? Huh, not so much, when you consider that
In his 2nd term the amount of Uninsured will shrink so much we can’t even predict!!!
And the number of Insured thanks to the ACA will easily grow to 100 million. Easily, because the skimpy numbers we have now count enrollees–families and /or singles—and not the number of people total. So what is 25 million now counting families + 27 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid yet, (and oh yes they will) + people able to retire because they will still be covered + + +

Thanks Chips, NW and all BTs for wonderful coverage of another event-packed week for both PBO and FLOTUS.

The progress that’s being made in renewable energy is breathtaking. Emoprogs should review how much has happened in the past 5 years compared to the previous 39 years (since the first Earth Day) and STFU. They should evaluate the progress he has made with a Congress which does nothing but stand in his way. And realize that this President has another 2 1/2 years to fulfill their demands.

My favorite speech this week was at the Shoah Foundation, one of the most personal the President has given.

He spoke about how everyone has a story, and how the tragic suffering of the Syrian children weigh on him.

He intertwined his great-uncle’s shell shock (didn’t use those words or PTSD, but did understand how the trauma of WWII’s atrocities burdened him) with those who survived that horror.

He spoke of his great friendships with Elie Wiesel and Steven Spielberg, and how Elie said that “Memory is our duty,” meaning that it’s the duty of the young to seek out the history of their living relatives and deceased ancestors and take action based on that history.

First time I’ve watched on the CBS widget, which was fascinating. The camera pretty much stayed focused on PBO, even during Conan’s quips. It did break away briefly when Bruce Springsteen performed his two songs and when Steven Spielberg introduced PBO.

I liked the widget because it was a “slice of life” experience with no talking heads. Just the camera and the participants. It looked like Kate Capeshaw is a non-stop chatter, who pretty much ignored PBO. She made up for it when he left by taking his face in both hands and kissing PBO on both cheeks.

And Liam Neeson apparently got PBO’s autograph. How great is that?

And to the GOP and RWNJs. You’ve got no candidate who is as remotely genuine and charismatic as PBO, and your “talent” surrogates like Meatloaf can’t hold a candle to The Boss, Spielberg and Neeson.

A three-judge panel of the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals rejected arguments from attorneys for strip club owners who contended it was unconstitutional for the fee to be charged on patrons at clubs that offer nude entertainment and sell alcohol or allow the customers to bring in their own alcohol.

The law to impose what’s become known as the “pole tax” was passed by lawmakers in 2007. It’s survived other court challenges since then. Some businesses have been collecting the fee and others have been waiting for resolution in the courts. The law earmarks the first $25 million of the tax every two years to a sexual assault prevention program.

Stephen Colbert’s replacement starting in Jauary is Larry Wilmore best known as the Daily Shows “senior black correspondent.”
If you don’t know Larry yet you have a big treat in store for you.
He is very funny and very smart.
His new show will be called “The Minority Report” which I am taking to mean the antidote to Sunday Morning GOP bs “news”, not a show based on race.

From the article:
“The idea is to have a panel of those voices led by Mr. Wilmore, commenting on the issues of the day — but in a comedic, scripted format, Ms. Ganeless [the president of Comedy Central] said. “We are so excited to have a fresh idea for late night.” She emphasized that the panel would not simply address minority issues, but any and all issues, except from minority points of view.”

Long overdue, since this country is now majority-minority.

I said last night that I hope that all the behind-the-scenes staff are persons of color, except for one “token” white person. This show will provide opportunities to talented people who might otherwise not get the chance.

snip /

“[Mr. Wilmore] has also been a successful writer for television, having created the widely praised series ‘The Bernie Mac Show’ and written for other shows, like ‘The Office’ (where he also memorably played ‘Mr. Brown’ in one of that comedy’s signature episodes), ‘In Living Color,’ ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ and ‘The Jamie Foxx Show.'”

Okay, EU Day was yesterday, but I missed it, or are they celebrating today? I’m a bit confused. Anyhoo (Shout out to Cookemom – it’s been a while, lady!), a wee bit of history a day late won’t hurt.

‘On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the European Union as you celebrate Europe Day on May 9.

Sixty-four years ago, Robert Schuman declared that a united Europe was indispensable to the maintenance of world peace. His vision continues to inspire us to join with our European partners in shaping a future worthy of our historic past.

When Europe negotiated the Treaty of Rome, the United States welcomed its contribution to the welfare of the entire free world. In 1992, when the European Community succeeded in creating a single market, U.S. companies invested – in droves. With the birth of the European Union, we worked together in a truly historic partnership to promote democracy, advance world trade, confront global challenges, and build new bridges across the Atlantic. We have supported EU efforts to jumpstart growth in the Eurozone and shore up European energy security. We continue to negotiate and remain laser focused on achieving an ambitious, comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. T-TIP will deepen our transatlantic economic partnership, increase economic wellbeing on both sides of the Atlantic, and establish a way of doing business that can serve as the global gold standard.

Today, the United States and an expanded European Union are working together to defend and advance the values history has shown make all nations stronger: human rights, rule of law, and prosperity for our people and citizens around the world.
………………………………..//’

I mean, seriously. Can you imagine a two-minute trip to Walmart, trying to look away from their on-sale-for-RWNJs Duck Dynasty inventory that greets you at the door (which happened to me, once, eek), and running into President Barack Obama? Damn, that image of his walking the aisles cracks me up each time I see it! Reminds me of when FLOTUS went to Target, “incognito,” and some lady asked her tall, beautiful self to reach something for her on the high shelf. They’ll never be able to just walk in a store alone, again, but they can pretend!

Happy Saturday, Chips, NW, and TODville ~ Happy Mother’s Day weekend to everybody, too. Beautiful sunny day in River City.

“Why Jews and Ukrainians Have Become Unlikely Allies
The history of Jewish-Ukrainian relations hasn’t been a happy one. But these days, the two sides are joining forces against Vladimir Putin.

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In fact, Yaakov Dov Bleich, an American-born rabbi recognized as Chief Rabbi of Ukraine since 1990, says that the recent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions have largely been staged Russian provocations designed to discredit pro-Ukrainian activists and Kiev’s interim government. Bleich is not a Pollyanna about the existence of anti-Semitism in Ukraine, and remains deeply concerned about Svoboda and Tyahnybok’s unapologetic use of anti-Semitic language — but he is much more concerned about Russia: “All of the recent attacks on synagogues and Jews have taken place in the east where the Russian extremists are operating. Meanwhile, in the West, where there are supposedly ultra-nationalist extremists, all has been quiet. The Ukrainian Jewish Community is definitely more afraid of Putin and these pro-Russian hooligans than of Ukrainian anti-Semitism.”

Bleich also noted that the threat from Russia has actually brought Jews and Ukrainians closer together, a process driven by the tribulations of the Maidan where, as Bleich pointed out, Jews stood side by side with Ukrainians. Three of the 82 protesters killed by Yanukovych’s police were Jewish, and Right Sector activists took a lead role in honoring one Jewish protester who was killed by a Berkut sniper. In what sounds almost like a made-for-TV movie, five Ukrainian Jews who had immigrated to Israel and served in the Israeli Defense Forces actually returned to Ukraine to lead a group of 40 Ukrainian fighters defending the Maidan. Jews also occupy a number of positions in the transitional Ukrainian government. Volodymyr Groysman is a deputy prime minister, while another Jewish-Ukrainian, Ihor Kolomoisky, was named governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region.”

My husband’s eyesight was terrific after one cataract was removed, and after the second one, it’s almost freakily good. He uses glasses now for only close up reading. He can see street signs and all other signs at a great distance, and clearly! Before his surgery, it was getting scary to ride in the car if he was driving, which he still INSISTED on doing unless I got to the car first.
.
So glad this is working the same way for you sailor. Vision is a wonderful gift. Life is just better for him now. Yes, get the second one done!

“According to Information Resistance data, pro-Russian extremists are conducting an intense propaganda campaign amongst the population in Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts [regions]. Its purpose is to force citizens to take part in the so-called “referendum” to ensure the split of Ukraine.

The separatists are trying to give the impression that during the “referendum,” Russia will be able to deploy “peacekeeping forces” on the territory of Ukraine, in order to help stabilize the situation in the region, as their main argument in their attempt to convince the people.

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However, the CSTO has no legal grounds for “peacekeeping” in Ukraine, as Ukraine is not a member of the organization. Article 3 of the Agreement on the CSTO peacekeeping operations provides that the organization can perform such activities based on their own decisions only on the territory of the CSTO member states. In the case of non-member countries of the CSTO, approval from the UN Security Council must be obtained first.

This means that any attempt by Russia to move its troops into Ukraine under any pretext, whether alone or in an “alliance” with its satellites, will mean direct military aggression against sovereign Ukraine, or rather the second stage of aggression after Crimea.”

A group of armed Kremlin-backed rebels in possession of a 100,000 ballots already marked with a ‘yes’ vote for the May 11 referendum in Donetsk Oblast were captured and the ballots seized during the Ukrainian government’s anti-terrorist operation near the rebel-occupied city of Sloviansk on May 10.

In addition, a Kalashnikov rifle, Makarov pistol, plus ammunition were seized, Obezrevatel reported. Earlier, Ukrainska Pravada reported that the separatists had seized 80 schools in Donetsk city to carry out their referendum.

Activists seeking to directly challenge federal control of swathes of territory in the U.S. West plan to embark on an all-terrain vehicle ride on Saturday across protected land in Utah that is home to Native American artifacts and where such journeys are banned.

The ride into Recapture Canyon, which comes amid heightened political tensions, is aimed to protest against indecision by federal land managers on whether to reopen canyon trails to recreational vehicle use after more than seven years of study.

The dispute is the latest squabble between conservative state’s rights advocates in Utah and across the West, who want to take back millions of acres of public land over which federal agencies have authority. In Utah, more than 60 percent of all public land is under federal control.

Because the rule of law doesn’t matter to them. Artifacts? Sacred Native American land? Eff that! These people need to be stopped. Enough already with the loons.

“Since 2007, the main encryption software for al Qaeda was called Asrar al-Mujahideen which means Mujahideen Secrets. Four to six months after the Snowden leaks, three Middle Eastern groups released three significant new tool sets for encryption, against a baseline of basically no new products for seven years, said Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of Recorded Future, which uses large quantities of publicly available online data to predict the timing and targets of future cyberattacks.

“Of course, this could be random, but it seems unlikely,” said Mr. Ahlberg, in an email. “Snowden provided the motivation and his leaks highlighted the means.”

The original Mujahideen Secrets is distributed by the Global Islamic Media Front, a propaganda organization associated with al Qaeda. In September 2013, GIMF released Tashfeer al-Jawwal, a mobile encryption platform, according to the report. In November 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, which has broken ties with al Qaeda, released an alternative encryption program called Asrar al-Ghurabaa. Finally, in December 2013, Al-Fajr Technical Committee which is a mainstream al Qaeda organization, released encryption software called Amn al-Mujahid.”

“The Committee of the Patriotic Forces of Donbas is urging all who want to return to peace, stability, and order to support the alternate referendum, on May 11, to join the territorial-administrative units of the Donetsk Oblast to the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

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Given the current situation, the KPSD is calling on citizens to support the referendum to join the territorial administrative units of the Donetsk Oblast to the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and declares that “the relevant work on the organization of the referendums has been completed in several cities and districts of the oblast, which need to become the catalysts for the return of Ukrainian sovereignty, law and order on the territory of the Donetsk region.”

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“Declaring allegiance to our country, Ukraine, we agree to coordinate the patriotic forces in the region and to assist the authorities in establishing stability, rule of law, and the prevention of civil conflict,” the signed Manifesto declares. It also sets out the main objectives of the committee “Peaceful Donbas”: united Ukraine, restoration of public order, civic dialogue, preservation of, and respect for, the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Donbas.””